I have always been wary of total strangers, particularly men, trying to talk me while on the bus, subway, or just about anywhere.
Yesterday, I sat next to a Filipino man inside a bus. In a few minutes, he started asking me my name, what town I came from, my age, my work, my marital status, etc. I'm not quite inclined to really speak to him or get to know him, so I just sort of let him go on his inquistion. I haven't quite mastered the art of polite rejection, or even the art of impolite rejection. At the end of his barrage of questions, he said, "'kala ko dalaga ka pa." (I thought you are still single.)
Was I being too generous to this man? This is not the first, nor will it be the last time that this will happen. It doesn't even matter if you are wearing a ring with a big rock on it! I was annoyed at the end of this exchange, to say the least. I think unless you have clearly established and discerned some level of relatedness (i.e. You know or sense that I'm actually interested in talking to you...), you shouldn't even try to carry a conversation. Sorry!
Today, while I was waiting for the bus (again), I saw one of my Filipino neighbors. It's a woman this time. She's always been fond of Rolando, but in a creepy way. I had the misfortune of not getting the bus before she got to me. She began to ask me questions as to whether I was pregnant, and why not, and was I on the pill, or was I taking some injections, or was I having or had an abortion... I was answering with abrupt answers (mostly NO) to her baseless, senseless questions. I've had this suspicion for some time now that she is not quite right up in her head. That doesn't really make me feel any better.
Even with good intentions, I think there is a healthy cautiousness that you can maintain when engaging strangers or even people you know ...
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment